Inquiry into lobbying

Remit

To examine whether there is a problem, either actual or perceived, with lobbying and, if so, how this can most effectively be addressed; to what extent a register of lobbyists would help with this process, who such a register should cover and how it would be operated in practice; and whether other steps might be needed to improve probity and transparency in this area.

Debate

The Committee held a committee debate in the Chamber on its initial findings on Thursday 6th November. The purpose of this was to allow other MSPs who are not on the committee to feed in views. The Committee has produced a summary of evidence received, intended to inform the debate.

A number of organisations provided 100 word statements prior to the debate and views were sought on Facebook and Twitter using the #SPLobbying hashtag in order to get further views from stakeholders and the wider public ahead of the debate. These were fed to MSPs before the debate.

Additional Information

Session on 18 December 2014

The Committee has considered lots of written and oral evidence as part of its inquiry. It has also held a Chamber debate to hear the views of MSPs and has engaged individuals through social media debates. It is now discussing possible findings before producing a report to Parliament.

The Committee is clear that legitimate lobbying is a crucial element of a healthy democracy. The Committee is yet to decide whether, for reasons of transparency and accountability, to recommend a register of lobbyists. It is giving this option very careful consideration.

There was a strong emphasis in evidence on the need for any register to adopt a proportionate approach and to ensure that it does not deter or inhibit engagement with the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government.

In addition, much of the evidence taken suggested that the principle of a register was appealing but it was difficult to envisage how a register would work in practice given the difficulty of:

deciding exactly what lobbying activity, or which lobbyists, should be registered; and

constructing a set of rules that ensures all of the relevant lobbying activity is captured.

To aid decision making the Committee has been modelling what a proportionate register might look like. The Committee has involved stakeholders throughout this process. As a continuation of this, the Committee decided to road-test a possible model for a register on a selection of stakeholders. It involved: